Nijverdal (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnɛi̯vərˌdɑl]) is a town of approximately 30000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is the commercial centre of the municipality Hellendoorn. Nijverdal (which means Industrious Valley) was founded in 1836 on the territory of the hamlet Noetsele. It was here that the industrial revolution in the Netherlands took root. Thomas Ainsworth (1795–1841) was one of its founding fathers. Textile production was the focus of industrial activity in Nijverdal, as it was for the rest of the Twente region. Some of the traditional factory buildings in the Art Deco or Jugendstil style still remain.